By Losalini Rasoqosoqo SUVA, Fiji (FijiSUN, Oct. 27, 2011) - Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said he would make sure that culture and traditions were preserved while Fiji moved towards infrastructure development which included obtaining the latest technologies.

This message was relayed to government officials and businessmen during the Prime Minister’s meetings in China.

Commodore Bainimarama said while Fiji strived to grow her economy and also share and develop latest technologies enjoyed by China and other international partners, he wanted to ensure that Fiji maintained and preserved its unique natural beauty, culture and traditions.

Meanwhile, during his last meeting with the Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal government Xu Qin where he was briefed on the economic growth of Shenzhen, he said Fiji needed to learn and take directions from the Shenzhen government to...

By Simon Eroro PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Oct. 27, 2011) - The Oro Provincial Government and its administration are faced with another problem.

A committee appointed by the Provincial Executive Council (PEC), the Oro Development Committee and Management Unit, diverted 12 million kina [US$5.4 million] from a 17.5 million kina [US$7.8 million] education development grant to purposes other than its intended use.

The Post- Courier was informed that this has upset many schools in the province.

And students and teachers in schools around the province were yesterday mobilizing to march into town to petition Governor Suckling Tamanabae, Provincial Administrator Owen Awaita, the administration, PEC members and members of the two committees appointed by the PEC.

Mr. Tamanabae, Mr. Awaita and the Provincial Education Adviser Ian Kopukoro could not be reached for comments as their phones...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Solomon Star, Oct. 29, 2011) – In the Solomons, two ministers have taken their oath at the Government House yesterday afternoon to take up their new ministerial portfolios after a reshuffle Thursday this week.

They are Bradley Tovosia who is the new minister for Fisheries and Dickson Mua who will be looking after the ministry of Forest and Research.

Mr. Tovosia who was relieved from his portfolio as minister of Forest and Research will now look after the ministry of fisheries which was left vacant for sometime under caretaker minister Moffat Fugui of Environment and Conservation.

Dickson Mua was relieved from the ministry of Women Youth and Children Affairs.

Minister Tovosia spoken to after receiving his oath said he was very happy to undertake a new portfolio which he says will be a challenge however hopes to see major projects that has been left pending for some time....

By Joshua Arlo PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Oct. 31, 2011) – In Papua New Guinea (PNG), police in Kokopo have arrested a couple allegedly for misappropriating 1.6 million kina [US$724,000] belonging to the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, for two projects in Milne Bay.

The couple is Christopher Hulape, 34, and wife Agnes Hulape, 34, who is understood to be pregnant and was allowed out on bail on Saturday after being questioned and charged in relation to ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption by the O’Neill government sanctioned Investigation Task-Force Sweep. The task force has so far arrested and charged four other prominent persons in its investigations.

Mr Hulape is the former executive officer to the former Planning Minister, Paul Teinsten. According to police information, Mr Hulape is from Vailala Hiloi village, Kikori in the Gulf Province and Mrs Hulape...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Oct. 27, 2011) – One of the largest cruise operators in the region says more Pacific Island communities will benefit from predicted strong growth in the industry.

Carnival Australia which operates P & O Cruises expects continued 20 percent growth annually with more than a quarter of a million travelers cruising the South Pacific on its liners in 2013.

The company’s CEO Ann Sherry says local communities will not be left out.

"We’re working very closely with communities to talk to them about what do they need, how can we work together, how do they see us rather than how do we see ourselves and what really are the benefits they’re looking for their communities."

Ann Sherry says P & O Cruises will continue to develop local tourism ventures and contribute to infrastructure and training of locals.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Solomon Star, Nov. 1, 2011) – In the Solomons, an internal audit of the Department Of The Ministry Of Finance has uncovered a number of shady deals between certain officials and some private companies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It was uncovered that forged letterheads and false quotes from certain private companies had been used to win certain contracts to print jobs for a number of government ministries.

This was done without the knowledge of the commercial companies.

Sources within the ministry of finance said this practice had been going on for many years.

And a number of firms are believed to have been affected by such illegal dealings.

Solomon Star Limited has been called to assist the internal auditing department in their investigation to identify the documents.

Solomon Star’s letter head too have been forged and the ministry of finance want to stop this...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Oct. 31, 2011) – Four government ministers have lost their seats after the second round of voting in the Kiribati election.

Twenty nine out of forty four members of Kiribati’s parliament retained their seats, and a final place in the legislature will be decided on Thursday after a tie for Christmas Island’s third seat.

A development worker in Kiribati, John Anderson, says lobbying now begins among MPs for the presidency, held by Anote Tong since 2003.

He says the party system in Kiribati is under developed and the opposition is not well organized.

"It’s in two or three small groupings. I wouldn’t call them parties because at least two of them don’t have policies they just want to beat the president but they’re going to have to bury their small differences to make sure they get one candidate they all stand behind and they get the numbers...

[PIR editor’s note: Dr. Derek Sikua was Solomon Islands former Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 until Prime Minister Danny Philip won in the August 2010 general elections.]

In response to the challenge made by Mr. Sikua for the Prime Minister to bring on the legal challenge published in the Solomon Star on Saturday last week, Mr. Philip said he is seeking justice.

"This is good. Because when he became Prime Minister, he knew nothing as absurd as abusing police officers by any Prime Minister in Solomon Islands. The same CPP (Close Protection Police) officers told me about all these...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Oct. 30, 2011) – Police in Indonesia have admitted that they accepted millions of dollars from the US company Freeport Indonesia to provide security for the miner’s operations in Papua.

The national police chief General Timur Pradopo has told the Jakarta Globe that the money has been accounted for, describing the payments as lunch money.

This comes as the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence has accused the police of siding with Freeport in a strike by thousands of workers, now in its seventh week.

The group says the Timika police chief Denny Siregar called a local Freeport union leader and made a death threat.

The unionist, Haris Azhar, says police have also leveled accusations of treason at striking workers and their union organizers.

The strike has disrupted production and last week, Freeport invoked force...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Nov.1, 2011) –THE Immigration and Citizenship Service has been urged to deport Greenpeace activists from PNG if they broke the country’s laws and regulations.

In a signed petition, hundreds of people in Pomio want the department and the National Maritime Safety Authority to investigate whether the activists had clearance to land at Pomio last week.

They believe that the Greenpeace vessel, mv Esperanza, entered the area illegally and had failed to follow proper protocol.

The petitioners believe that the Greenpeace activists’ objective is to disrupt

economic activity and to impede PNG’s development.

They see Greenpeace as a foreign organisation which is not genuinely interested in the welfare of the landowners.

They believe that Greenpeace is deliberately trying to stop commercial activity in the area and deprive landowners of employment and incomes for...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.